


Serendipity

by BreeEasterling



Category: Midnight Poppy Land (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Mild Angst, Not Beta Read, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:47:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25963831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BreeEasterling/pseuds/BreeEasterling
Summary: Serendipity: noun /ˌserənˈdipədē/ the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.Tora, a wealthy business man is caught off guard when he begins to fall for his beautiful new private pilot, Poppy Wilkes.
Relationships: Tora/Poppy Wilkes
Comments: 37
Kudos: 68





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea ever since reading the Asura's Bride Secret Garden "Princess Mine" (if you don't follow LilyDusk's Patreon, you are missing out) - not 100% sure how long this will end up being, I'm going with the flow for this! Just some light, falling in love fluffy/smutty goodness, hope you enjoy :)

After being harassed by my friends I had finally caved and agreed to a weekend in Vegas. Each of us were covering a large portion of the trip; we were staying in a hotel owned by Gyu’s family, we were seeing shows that Quincey was producing, and I was covering the flight to and from. Not wanting to deal with the main airline, I arranged for the private jet, it would be faster and easier. Since I started flying privately I always had the same pilot, Captain Mark Rose. This time though, he was called away for a family emergency. Thankfully Captain Rose never left me hanging and had a backup; his previous first officer had recently been promoted to Captain and was available. 

“Captain Wilkes is very skilled and professional; you’ll be in excellent hands.” Mark explained when he called to explain the situation. Trusting in my pilot and friend, I accepted his alternate and allowed the flights to be scheduled with Captain Wilkes as our pilot. 

The day of the flight Gyu and I arrived at the airfield, the private jet already there and waiting. As we got out of the car and the driver began unloading luggage from the trunk, a petite woman ascended the plane steps. She was gorgeous, curvaceous and had a kind face; not the supermodel type, but a head-turning girl next door. At first glance I assumed she was the stewardess, but then I took in her state of dress and the realization struck me like a smack to the face— _this_ was Captain Wilkes. I turned to warn Gyu not to say anything stupid, but I was too late...

Gyu smiled at the pretty brunette as she approached us. “Hey beautiful, could I get a scotch on the rocks before we take off?” He asked the question politely enough, but I cringed. Nothing about her appearance looked like a stewardess; she wore a well-tailored black suit, her hair in a low, tight bun, a captain’s hat firmly on her head and an epaulet on each shoulder with a single gold stripe. Everything about her attire screamed pilot.

She cleared her throat, her cheeks reddening. “I’d be happy to relay your request to the steward…” She explained calmly as Gyu’s face twisted with confusion. “I came out to greet you before we got underway… Allow me to introduce myself, I am Captain Poppylan Wilkes and I will be your pilot today.” She was warm, professional and kind, despite Gyu’s assumption that she was a stewardess.

The noise Gyu emitted was a little more than a high-pitched squeak, poor guy was the king of putting his foot in his mouth. In an effort to save my idiot friend, I stepped forward and offered Poppylan my hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Captain Wilkes, I’m Tora—Mark had great things to say about you.”

She blushed a deep shade of red as she accepted my hand; the way our hands fit together was almost comical, with her being so much smaller than me, but it felt…. nice. “I’m honored to hear that.” Clearing her throat, she gestured back towards the plane. “Please make yourselves comfortable while I go through some final pre-flight checks. We’ll be ready to go shortly.”

Once Poppylan was out of earshot, I turned to Gyu who still looked like he was about to melt into the tarmac beneath us.

“Dude.” I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “What about her made you think she was a stewardess? She’s wearing a damn suit!”

Gyu shrugged. “I thought you hired one of those strippers that dress up!” Not having the words to properly respond, I reached out and smacked the back of my friend’s head before walking to the plane, shaking my head.

Our steward’s name was Jeff, and while he was polite, attentive and professional, he was a far cry from the “sexy stewardess” Gyu assumed I would hire for the flight. As we settled into our seats and Jeff closed the cabin door, a melodic voice came over the intercom.

“Good afternoon, this is Captain Wilkes just letting you know we’re ready for take off, please sit back, relax and we’ll be touching down in Vegas in about one hour and fifteen minutes.” When the intercom clicked off the engines roared to life.

Gyu sighed. “She is so sexy and I reduced her to a stereotype.” He moaned into his hands as the plane lurched forward.

Never even bothering to look up from my newspaper I sighed. “Yep, you sure did. Real sexist move.” I wasn’t about to sugarcoat his stupidity; he should have known better than to assume I would have hired a stripper for a flight. Sure, strippers were great in a bar or at a club, but one thing I’ve never taken lightly was air travel. Ever since founding my airline with my guardian five years ago, I’ve worked my ass off in order to grow an empire for safe, economical air travel all over the world.

When my parents died, they left me with money, abandonment issues, and a questionable guardian. Sure, Vincent Balthuman and my father had run many successful companies together, but Vincent’s parenting left a lot to be desired and they were fully aware. But at fourteen I was alone, scared and an orphan, leaving me no room to contest the water-tight Last Will and Testament my parents left behind. From that point on I lived with the Balthuman family, being raised alongside Quincy. It was a world away from my previous homelife; while my parents were never around, Vincent was never _not_ around. Quincey and I were watched like hawks, which only further encouraged teenage rebellion once we were old enough. The fact that we ended up successful at all was all due to the fact that Vincent never bailed us out of trouble. If we screwed up, we have to get our ways out of it. Need a lawyer? We had to pay out of our own well-lined pockets. At the time I hated it, but looking back as a successful business man I am grateful.

True to Mike’s word, Poppylan was a model pilot, getting us to Vegas quickly and safely. Once the door was opened and Gyu and I were allowed to exit, Poppylan came to the cockpit door to bid us farewell, a warm smile on her face. She had taken off her hat during the flight, which only gave me a better look at her face.

Gyu hopped off the plane after a quick, polite goodbye to our pilot, but I stopped, wanting just a few more moments with her. “Thank you, Captain Wilkes. Will you be staying in the area?”

“Yes sir, I’m at your disposal for the next four days.” She explained, only catching her double entendre after the words had left her mouth. Her cheeks turned a brilliant shade of red while her big brown eyes fell to our feet; it was the cutest shit I had seen in years.

Not wanting to make her feel any more uncomfortable than she had already made herself I repressed a laugh. “Well I hope you take some time to enjoy the city—we won’t be leaving until Sunday.”

Poppylan beamed. “Thank you, sir.”

“Please, call me Tora.”

She nodded. “Fair, but only on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“Call me Poppy.”

“Deal.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poppy reflects on how she ended up where she is and has an unexpected guest for her late night snack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have never been to Vegas *sob*, so everything described here is based off pictures, quick internet research, some old fashioned imagination and what my family and friends have mentioned :) When reviewing the menu for Top of the World, I might have had a mild panic attack at the price of one of their steaks...

No picture on Pinterest held a candle to the Bellagio Hotel in real life. Walking through the lobby I felt absurdly out of place; from the polished floors to the fountains, and richly dressed guests I felt as if I couldn’t even afford to stand inside the building—even the employees were picture perfect. Luckily the woman who checked me in was kind, she reminded me of Erdene with her boney-bitch physique and playful attitude. She gave me the most ridiculous instructions of how to get to my hotel room, which required 3 elevators, fifteen hallways and thirteen left turns it seemed. The fact that I ever made it to my little room on the fifth floor was a miracle.

When Mike had asked for me to take over his flights for Tora I had jumped at the chance, thinking of nothing more than the money. But now I was regretting my carelessness; I had seen Tora Ulaan from a distance before, but it wasn’t until we were face to face, and his golden eyes were on me that I realized just how handsome he was. It was borderline immoral the way his cheeks dimpled when he smiled, and how his baritone voice shook me to my core. No wonder he hasn’t settled down yet, all the rumors of his bedroom being a carousel of women was probably true.

Although I didn’t have a balcony, I did have a view of the fountains from my room. Setting down my small suitcase and purse, I kicked off my heels and sighed, relishing the way my feet relaxed into the lush carpeting of my hotel room. The room was nothing fancy compared to the others in the Bellagio, but it was still the nicest hotel room I had ever stayed in; king sized bed with Egyptian cotton sheets, a walk in shower the size of my entire bedroom at home, a flatscreen TV, the vanity of my dreams and a gorgeous view of the fountains.

Collapsing onto the bed I pulled out my phone and pulled up the lists I had saved on Pinterest; _28 Free Things To Do in Las Vegas, Free Things To Do In Las Vegas Actually Worth Doing, 17 Places to Get Cheap Meals in Las Vegas_ and _Las Vegas on a Budget_. In my mind, I was on the clock, so drinking and partying was out of the question; if Tora called at three in the morning wanting to fly home, I would have to jump up and go. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t have a fun, sober time while I was here waiting to be summoned. Erdene had insisted I pack something besides PJ’s, street clothes and my uniform, so I had decided to treat myself to at least one nice meal while I was here. Although I knew the check was going to make me want to cry.

“You make good money and it’s your first time in Vegas!” Erdene lectured while shoving things back into my suitcase after I had just removed them, hoping she would stop trying to shove lingerie and my one ‘sexy’ dress into my luggage. “Go and do something fun!”

“By fun, you mean expensive.” I muttered with my back turned to her as I organized my toiletries.

Erdene sighed. “Sometimes fun things in life aren’t free, Pops.” Although I didn’t say it out loud, I knew Erdene had a point and I also knew I could more than handle one nice dinner out. I did hours of research, weighed my options and decided to treat myself to a dinner at _Top of the World_ , which had a 360 view of the strip, near-flawless reviews and a mouthwatering menu. It was going to easily cost me three figures, but for one night of luxury, I decided it was worth it.

Plus, I wasn’t having to pay for travel or my hotel, so I rationalized that it all balanced out in the end.

It was strange, after so many years of living in a lower-middle class family to have money to actually spoil myself. After my mother left us, my father worked himself to death to make sure I wanted for nothing, but even he could not control the success of those around us. School was the toughest, growing up in such a small town like Moon Bright had not helped, always having the same thirty-seven people in all of my classes, seeing their new clothes, new toys, then eventually new cars and luxury vacations only reminded me how differently my father and I lived. My only salvation was my uncle, a pilot who taught me to fly when I was just fifteen. Flying was the one thing I could do, that my classmates couldn’t even with their father’s money. Life became more difficult when my father died when I was sixteen, but I still had my uncle and flying. I flew all though high school and college, studying Aviation at Narin University on a full academic scholarship. It was during my college years that I met Mr. Rose and was offered a position with Blue Koi Airlines as one of their private pilots.

After four years of flying under Captain Rose while in college, I graduated and six months later was promoted to Captain and flying solo trips whenever needed. Reaching captain at the age of twenty-four was something I never imagined possible, yet here I was. Working for Blue Koi was a dream, they paid well and treated their captains like treasure, especially those of us who flew the higher ups in the private jets. For the first time in my life I had enough money that I didn’t need to worry so much and was slowly adjusting to a life of comfort and ease.

By the time I was showered and dressed in street clothes, I saw the time and cringed; it was already after eleven pm, there was no way I was leaving the hotel. Kicking myself for wasting time lounging about I picked up the little booklet explaining the hotel amenities and breathed a sigh of relief to find that most of their bars were open 24/7. I decided on the piano bar, which was just off the main lobby which boasted a tranquil atmosphere. Grabby my wallet, phone and map of the hotel I headed downstairs hoping I’d be able to find food.

The bar was nearly empty, a few couples were scattered about, sipping cocktails and listening to the piano player, but the bar was vacant. Hopping up into a seat I scanned the menu for a moment before the stealthy bartender materialized out of nowhere.

I jumped a little. “Sorry, you’re very quiet.” His nametag said Trip.

He blushed. “Apologies ma’am, what can I get you tonight?” He was soft spoken with a gentle smile, but I got the sneaking suspicion he didn’t socialize with women all that much judging by his inability to keep his eyes off of my cleavage and his trembling tone.

“Can I have a coke?” He nodded eagerly. “And do you serve food?”

“Yes ma’am, anything served in room service I can serve here.” He handed me a new menu. Biting my lip I quickly looked over my options, feeling Tripp stare me down the entire time.

“Can I have a Caesar salad?”

“Yes ma’am, coming right up!”

Feeling a little relief when Tripp disappeared, I pulled out my phone and excited planned out my day tomorrow; check out the Las Vegas sign, seeing the fountain show at the Bellagio, a tour of the Flamingo Wildlife Habitat, then my wallet-breaking dinner date with myself at 6pm. While planning my day, Tripp brought my drink and salad before quickly making himself scarce once again. I was in my own little world, eating, sipping my high-sugar drink and scrolling through Pinterest. That was the only way I didn’t notice when I was suddenly joined at the bar.

“Fancy meeting you here.” I jumped at the unexpected voice, nearly throwing my phone. Tora chuckled as he got comfortable on the barstool beside me and flagged down the bartender. “Do you need a refill?” Tora asked politely, his golden eyes dancing in the dim light of the bar. Still shocked he was just casually in the same bar as me so late at night, I struggled to find words, but I was able to manage to shake my head no. 

Tora turned back to Tripp. “Cherry Coke please.”

The look on Tripp’s face was priceless, clearly he had expected literally anything else to come from the large man beside me. “Uh, that all?”

“Yes…” Tora quirked an eyebrow. “That a problem?”

Trip turned as red as a cherry himself as he shook his head no. “Not at all sir! Cherry Coke, coming right up!” Then he was off as quickly as he had appeared. Alone once again, Tora turned his attention back to me. “Did he judge your drink order as much as he judged mine?”

“Not that I noticed… But I’m a baby-faced young woman, so I doubt he gave my virgin drink much thought.” We shared a laugh which quickly melted into an oddly comfortable silence. “I’m surprised you’re down here… I thought you and Mr. Quincey would be out on the town.”

Tora sighed as Tripp set his soda down in front of him. “Quincey and Gyu are already drunk and singing karaoke in a bar a few doors down…” I was completely unsurprised to hear that Quincey was drunk singing karaoke; I had flown co-pilot for the Balthuman family a few times since I was hired, and found Quincey to be fun loving, polite to staff and always interested in a good time; regardless of how embarrassing it might be.

On the other hand, nothing I had seen of Tora’s temperament so far made me think he would be into karaoke, but stranger things had happened. “You didn’t want to join?”

“Naw… I prefer vacations to be relaxing, not embarrassing and heavily photographed.” He took a sip of his drink.

“Amen to that.” I raised my glass to him and when he saw what I was doing, we tapped our glasses in a light cheer that brought a small smile to the corner of Tora’s mouth.

“Do you have plans to go out and paint the town red?” Tora teased somewhat awkwardly, his small talk was clearly forced, but appreciated. I never imagined sitting at a bar, having non-alcoholic drinks with my boss while technically on the job, but here I was.

“Not at all… I am technically working.” I explained, his shot me a confused look from the corner of his eye. “Until we return to LA, I’m at your beck-and-call for anything flight related. If you woke up at three in the morning and decided you wanted to go home, I’d have to be prepared to fly you.”

Tora nodded in understanding as he stared straight ahead, as if mulling something over. “So you don’t have plans to have any fun this weekend?” He pressed.

“Never said that! Just tame, sober fun that allows for a decent bedtime.” I pulled out my phone and opened my list of things I wanted to do. “See? I made a list!” Tora didn’t take my phone, but he did cradle my hand in his so he could get a better angle of the screen. Where our skin touched I felt like I had been set on fire, his touch was unexpectedly gentle and warm despite his size.

When Tora let my hand go, I prayed he wouldn’t notice how red my face was. “You have a good list there.” He praised. “Don’t think I’ve even done half of those things.”

“Really? But you’ve been here before.”

“Quincey prefers the more exotic entertainment that Vegas offers.” Tora sighed and rolled his eyes. “Not that I mind, but it gets old after a while.” The mental image of Tora in a strip club was one I could have gone without, even in a near empty bar, the few women present were unable to keep their eyes off of him, he was absurdly tall, muscular, with striking eyes and a resting-kill you face that just seemed to naturally either seduce or terrify.

“You’re more than welcome to join me if you’d like.”

Again, word vomit. The memory of my earlier double entendre came back and smacked me as I invited my boss to join me for a day of free sightseeing. Looking down into my glass, I wondered if I could drown myself in four ounces of Coca-Cola quickly enough to not have to even hear Tora’s response.

“Sure, that sounds like fun.” As Tora took the last sip of his soda, I discreetly pinched myself. Did he just agree to lame touristy things with me? Standing up, Tora tossed a few bills onto the bar and flashed me a smile. “Meet in the lobby tomorrow? Around eleven?” I nodded dumbly, then watched Tora leave the bar, his hands casually in his pockets.

Once I was alone I stared down at my half eaten salad trying to understand what had just happened, and what I had just done. Did I just ask the CEO of the company I work for on a date? No. It wasn’t a date. It was sightseeing during his vacation that I flew him too. This was a horrible mistake. I had just leaped over countless boundaries. What if he thought I was trying to use him to get money? Or a promotion? Tripp came back then and picked up the bills Tora had dropped on the bar. My thoughts raced as I reached for my wallet.

“Oh, you don’t owe anything, your boyfriend left fifty dollars on the bar.” Tipp explained as he began clearing the glasses and plates.

Boyfriend? I shook my head, that was not the part of this that needed clarification. “He what?”

Tripp grinned. “He paid for your bill and left a nice tip—thank him for me!” Then the bartender was gone again, and I was left in shocked silence. What the hell was going on?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tora and Poppy spend the day together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'alls comments are honestly giving me life. I am so glad others are enjoying this story idea as much as I am!
> 
> Now let's see what our favorite tiger is thinking...

I smirked at Gyu as he struggled to butter his toast, while Quincey was hunched over a cup of coffee. They both looked like hell, I on the other hand slept like a baby and was enjoying my breakfast, looking forward to my date with Poppy.

 _Nope, not a date. Don’t assume anything!_ I mentally chided myself. She had invited me sightseeing, she had said nothing about a date. The last thing I needed to go was to go into today with preconceived notions… Once I returned to my suite last night, I began to process our conversation and what I had agreed to. Although I didn’t really see it that way, Poppy was my employee. The fact that we were spending time together was not exactly appropriate, regardless of how innocent it all might be.

So why was I doing it? I had plenty of female employees who tried to spend time with me, ranging from discreetly placing themselves in my path to blatantly asking me on dates, or more awkwardly, proposing to have sex with me in my office with “no strings attached”—spoiler alert, there are always strings attached when a perfect stranger propositions you for sex. I had never had an issue turning those women down, so why was I so willingly—hell, eagerly—agreeing to spend time with Poppy? Maybe it was the fact that when she looked at me, she looked me in the eyes, not my body. Maybe it was the soft smile she seemed to always have on her angel face as she went about her business. Or maybe it was simply because being around her just felt good.

Continuing to sip my tea I got a sick amount of enjoyment out of watching my friends struggle to function in their hungover state. “What are you two doing today?” I dared to ask, doing my best to hide my smirk behind my tea.

They answered very differently but in unison; Quincy intended to “sleep until the sun sets” while Gyu muttered “vomit” as his slab of butter completely missed his toast and hit the table. For a moment Gyu just glared at the offensive condiment until he gave up and just ate his toast dry.

Good. With them preoccupied with sleep and vomit, that gave me the freedom to do whatever I wanted with Poppy. Well, maybe not _whatever_ I wanted—doubted she would be up for a couple rounds of naked twister just yet. But even knowing she wasn’t that type of woman, I couldn’t help but imagine what that tiny, curvy woman would be like beneath the sheets. Was she a moaner, a screamer or both? She seemed so innocent and soft, was that just a front for when she was in public and once the door was closed she was a freak? The possibilities were endless, but I had to stop myself before my imagination got away from me. There was a time and place for everything, and while maybe this could turn into the right time and place, eleven in the morning on a Friday was certain not it.

Checking my phone to check the time, my heart skipped a beat when I realized it was closer to eleven o’clock than I had thought. Quickly I downed the rest of my tea before standing up and patting myself down to check for my wallet and phone.

Quincy looked up at me with bloodshot eyes. “Where are you off too?”

“Gym.” It was a safe answer that wouldn’t lead to them pressing for more information or wanting to join given their hangovers. They both muttered their goodbyes as I hopped up from my seat and hurried from the restaurant.

The lobby was full of life and people, standing by the massive stone vase full of greenery that was in the center of the lobby, I absently scrolled through social media in hopes of not looking too eager when Poppy arrived. But the moment she stepped into the lobby and the crowd around her dispersed, I was dumbstruck. She was fucking adorable, her little yellow sundress hugging her soft figure and giving her a healthy glow despite her pale complexion. She had her hair pulled away from her face but left the majority of it free flowing down her back. When our eyes met, she smiled; my personal sunshine.

“Good morning, Tora.” Poppy beamed, stopping just outside of arms reach. She was so much shorter than me, if we stood side by side I could easily use the top of her head as an armrest like I had once down with Quincey when we were kids and he hadn’t yet hit his growth spurt.

Offering her my arm, I tried to keep my cool as Poppy happily wrapped her hands around my tricep and stepped into my side. “Alright, Miss. Wilkes—where too?”

Hailing a cab was much easier with Poppy by my side, the ride to the Las Vegas welcome sign was short and uneventful, Poppy chattered happily about the plan for the day the entire ride—I wasn’t able to get a word in edgewise and I didn’t want too. When we got out of the cab Poppy took a few photos of the sign on her phone before I held out my hand.

“Go stand under it and I’ll take your photo.” I offered. Poppy blushed as she nibbled her bottom lip and looked between her phone and the sign. “Something wrong?”

Poppy looked up at me, as if startled out of deep thought. “Oh! Uh, well… I just don’t like having my picture taken.” She admitted, eye contacting breaking as she hit the button to lock her phone. For a second I was caught off guard, girls always wanted their pictures taken, they were perpetually taking selfies and posting them on Instagram… But the girls that came to mind were nothing like Poppy—they were the usual type of woman I would spend time with; rich, spoiled, shallow, self-absorbed. Not what I wanted in the long term, but what seemed to gravitate towards me regardless… Poppy on the other hand was nothing like that. She was driven, smart and kind.

“Okay, then how about this… I’ll take a picture of the sign, and you can just happen to be in it.” I held out my hand for her phone. Poppy hesitated for a moment, glancing back and forth between her phone and the sign a few more times before eventually unlocking the device and handing it over. Without another word she scurried over to the sign and posed beneath it with a bright smile. No sorority squat, no duck lips, no tacky pose—just a beautiful girl with a stunning smile.

After snapping a few pictures on Poppy’s phone, she came back over, still a little shy about the situation. When I handed her phone back over, our fingers brushed and that same warmth from last night came back. I cleared my throat in an effort to remain composed. “Hopefully one of them will be good enough to show off.”

Poppy scrolled through the photos with a small smile on her face. “Oh I’ll just keep it for myself… Maybe show it to Erdene.” She gave a light shrug before stashing her phone back into her purse and looking up at me.

Next stop was the Flamingo Habitat; although I had never had much interest in birds myself, seeing Poppy gush about random Flamingo facts was entertaining and endearing. There were babies as well, which were nothing more than little grey puff balls.

“Flamingos are naturally white.” Poppy explained as she read from a pamphlet, she had picked up on our way in. “They turn pink due to their concentrated diet of shrimp.” The way she talked about things was adorable, as if every small detail was the most interesting thing in the world. It was nice, roaming around and checking out the various animals and exhibits that was offered. The conversation remained light and easy, mostly about flamingos and other zoos we had been too.

“My father took me to the Moon Bright Zoo every Sunday growing up.” She beamed as we sat on a bench and shared an order of French fries. “It was free zoo day, so it was really the only time I got to go, but it was always fun.” I smiled at the idea of a much younger Poppy running through the zoo with her father, going wide eyed at the different animals. “What did you do with your parents as a child?” she asked expectantly, not realizing how difficult that question was to answer…

Thinking back, I spent more time with nannies than with my own parents. Dad was always working, and mom had never wanted to be a mother in the first place. I was born purely to be the family heir, not because I was especially wanted—but that wasn’t something Poppy needed to hear.

“We would go to England every fall to visit my mother’s family and would spend December in Tokyo visiting my father’s family.” I explained, hoping this would be enough to turn the conversation back to her. “In England, my grandfather would take me to a new museum or castle every weekend for a tour.” I to leave out the part about having tea or lunch with whomever lived in the castle we were visiting…

“That’s amazing!” Poppy gushed. “I’ve never left the country. I barely left California until I started working full time after college.” She blushed a little. “Sorry—I’m sure I sound incredibly uncultured.”

“What?” I was taken aback by her sudden shift from amazement to self-deprecation. “No, not at all. Everyone grows up in a different way. I might have been traveling to different countries, but it sounds like you got to have a relationship with your father.”

Poppy’s eyes grew soft with emotion. “Did you not have a good relationship with your father?” She asked softly, reaching out to place her hand over mine.

With my free hand, I scratched the back of my head. “I wouldn’t say we had a bad relationship… we just didn’t really have one at all.” This did nothing to lighten Poppy’s mood and instead she gave my hand a soft squeeze as she continued to study me with sympathetic eyes.

Wanting to return to before, I stood up and held out my hand to help her up. “Alright, let’s go to the next thing on your list—you wanted to see the fountain show back at the hotel, right?”

Poppy brightened back up. “Yes!” Taking my hand, she dragged me towards the exit, a skip back in her step.

We watched the fountains as the sun began to set. Poppy watched show with amazement and bright eyes but I struggled to take my eyes off of her. The setting sunlight cast a warm glow against her creamy skin and picked up the highlights in her brunette hair. Standing close enough to feel the warmth on her body, I wanted to reach out and take Poppy into my arms, but I knew I couldn’t. This wasn’t a date. This was two people spending the day together. I was her boss and despite the way she made me feel, I had to keep things professional and appropriate. 

When the fountain show came to an end, Poppy turned, looked up at me and for a moment, the world stood still. Staring into one another’s eyes, everything and everyone around us melted away leaving us in our own world. Without thinking, too lost in her big brown eyes to be rational, I reached out and took her hand into mine. Her fingers intertwined with mine instantly and we stepped closer to one another, coming chest to chest. Reaching up with my other hand, I tucked a small section of hair behind her ear and was about to cupped the side of her head to angle her face upwards…

“Tora!” We might as well have been tased, the way we jumped apart from one another. Looking over my shoulder, my heart pounding in my chest, I glared at Gyu and Quincey as they approached. They had clearly recovered from their hangovers and were ready for night two.

Poppy cleared her throat bringing my attention back to her, her cheeks bright red. “Thank you again for coming with me today, it was nice to have the company.” She forced a small smile through her embarrassment but didn’t look me in the eyes before hurrying past me, only giving Gyu and Quincy a quick wave as she disappeared from sight.

Gyu was oblivious, instead he was giddily talking about everything we were going to do now that we were all together. It was Quincey who saw the look on my face, had recognized that Poppy was mortified and looked guilty for breaking up the moment.

“You okay, bro?” Quincey asked as Gyu stepped to the curb to hail a cab.

I sighed. “Yea, just… can’t decide if you two got here at the right or wrong time.”

Quincey patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry honey, if you got one moment, you’ll get another.”

I cocked an eyebrow at my adopted brother. “Why are you so sure about that?”

A cab pulled up then and Gyu waved us over. Quincey smirked and pushed me towards the waiting car. “Because I’ve decided it will be so and I always get what I want.”

Truer words had never been spoken…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaand cock blocked. Who doesn't love a good slow build?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tora has a boys night, Poppy has a dinner out, and Quincy puts a plan in motion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of those chapters where I knew what I wanted to happen but had a hard time getting it all laid out - hope you enjoy!

As soon as my hotel room door shut behind me, I sunk to the floor. I was somewhere between wanting to cry and wanting to just disappear altogether. I had nearly kissed Tora, or he had nearly kissed me. Either way, we were inches from doing something incredibly inappropriate and I couldn’t help but feel responsible. I should have never asked him to come along with me today, although it seemed he did truly enjoy himself, I knew it wasn’t right. At the end of the day, regardless of how easy it was to be around Tora, he was my boss and there were certain things that just shouldn’t happen—like kissing him.

In the moment I had wanted to slap Gyu and Quincy for showing up and interrupting what I was sure would have been the best kiss of my life—but once given a chance to reflect I was relived. They may have saved my job.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled myself up off the floor and headed towards the shower. Tonight, I was treating myself to a nice dinner and I wanted to enjoy it. A hot shower, some fresh make up, a new hairstyle and outfit change later I was ready and feeling much better about myself. So far, I had not asked for anything inappropriate and decided then and there I would not ask for anything of Tora again. If he was interested in me, he would have to be the one to do something about it. Regardless of how much I wanted something to happen between us, I couldn’t put him in a position to think I was only after advancement, or his money.

\---

Gyu giggled like a little kid while Quincey made it rain on a dancer who was twerking on stage. Sitting off to the side, sipping my beer and occasionally tossing the entertainer tips, I tried my best to remain focused on what was happen around me. The club was packed, so we opted to spend our evening on the VIP balcony, it had fewer guests, better dancers and much nicer alcohol. It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate the beautiful women around me, but they weren’t who I wanted. They weren’t Poppy.

It felt wrong, wanting her so badly after knowing her for such a short amount of time. But I wanted to be with her in the most innocent, and intimate ways possible. If all she wanted was friendship, to spend platonic time together and talk, I’d happily sit with her for hours and listen to every word she had to say… But if she wanted more, than I would be able to die a happy man. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the fact that I had been inches from feeling her kiss, but regardless of the why I was hung up on the little brunette pilot and I had no idea of what my next move should be.

Quincy threw a balled-up cocktail napkin at me to break me out of my daze. He cocked an eyebrow at me before gesturing to the dancer in front of us, indicating that my lack of attention was coming off as rude. I sighed; it wasn’t this woman’s fault that I was a lovesick idiot. Finishing off my beer I stood and muttered something about taking a smoke break, ignoring Quincy and Gyu’s protests that I could smoke inside the club. Stepping out onto the open air section of the second floor of the club, I lit up before leaning against the rail and pulling out my phone. On Instagram I typed in Poppy’s name, wandering if she had posted the pictures she had taken at the Flamingo habitat. Her profile was cute, innocent and had more photos of her friends and cooking than of her face. I smiled; she had posted a photo of the baby flamingos we had seen today. Grey little puff balls, they had been adorable, and Poppy had squealed at the sight of them.

Out on the patio, I continued to scroll through Poppy’s Instagram as I blew smoke rings into the warm night air. She wasn’t like the women I usually found myself interested in; she lived a quiet life, not a lot of clubs or parties. She enjoyed cooking and lived in a modest, but quant apartment judging by the pictures of her décor. I never really thought I had a type; I usually just went along with whatever woman showed interest and was tolerable to be around. There was even a period of time that Quincy asked if I was aeromantic, given my disinterest in anything besides physical intimacy. But there was something about Poppy—while the idea of getting her between the sheets made my stomach knot up, I also wanted to bring her flowers, take her on a romantic night out and do whatever it took to make her happy. But it wouldn’t be that simple. She was an employee of the company I co-founded and regardless of my personal desires, the idea of taking advantage of her position was sickening.

Locking my phone, I let out a deep sigh as I snuffed out my cigarette on the railing. Poppy would have to be the one who initiate a relationship, if I did, I’d never be positive that she was there because she wanted to be, or if she feared for her employment.

My abandoned chair had been claimed, forcing me to go take a seat beside Quincey. He watched me with a scrutinizing eye as I plopped down into a seat. The dancer in front of us swayed in time with the music, looking radiant and inviting. Not wanting my cloudy mood to put her off I tossed a few fives onto the stage for her.

Quincey leaned over. “Usually a blonde brings a smile to that mean mug of yours.” He teased as the dancer slid down onto the floor of the stage and crawled towards us. We both tipped her a bit more before she climbed back up the pole.

I shrugged. “Not really into it tonight, I guess.” A lingerie clad waitress came over then, hanging herself over my shoulder, her black curls fell against my shoulder, wafting her honeysuckle scent.

“Can I get you something to drink, honey?” She asked in soft, warm voice.

I handed her a ten-dollar bill as I glanced at her from the side. “Crown and coke.” She grinned as she accepted the cash tip and scurried back off. Usually I wouldn’t mind being touched by a waitress, especially in a strip club, since it was just part of the experience, but this time it bugged me. What if I ran into Poppy later and she caught the scent of honeysuckle on my shirt?

Shaking my head, I tried to relax; there was no way Poppy would even get close enough to me to catch the scent of another’s woman’s perfume. I was becoming obsessive.

Quincey was still making a study of me. “Ah, I know the problem.” His smirk aggravated me. “None of these women are a certain cutie pilot.”

“Shut up, Quincey. You know why that’ll never happen—even if I wanted it too.” The heat on my face gave away my lie. Of course I wanted it to happen, Poppy is a beautiful woman, what straight man _wouldn’t_ want her?

My brother ignored me entirely. “Oh please, this isn’t the 50’s, if you like the girl then get after it. She won’t agree to something she doesn’t want because of your position. Poppy is a strong, independent woman—”

“Working in a male dominant field and for a male-owned company.” I snapped, narrowing my eyes at Quincey. “Don’t be ignorant.”

Quincey crossed his arms over his chest, pouting a little. “Dad married a receptionist after mom died.” He muttered. “Receptionist ranks way lower than Private Company Pilot.” It wasn’t often that Quincey refernced his father’s second marriage and its questionable beginnings. Abigail was a nice woman, poised and polite, but she was definitely more of a sugar baby than the first Mrs. Balthuman had been. Thankfully for Quincey’s sake, Vincent waited until a year after Mrs. Balthuman died before taking his relationship with Abigail public, at which point she had been the main desk receptionist for Blue Koi’s corporate office for three years.

“I’m not pursuing her Quincey, end of story.” I snapped, refusing to take the bait to get into why me pursuing Poppy wasn’t all that different from Vincent pursuing Abigail. “The ball is in Poppy’s court.” I added calmly as the song changed as the dancer collected her tips as a new girl climbed onto the stage.

Quincey opened his mouth as if to say something, but quickly clamped his jaw shut and simply sighed. “Whatever you say, big bro.”

\---

Dinner had been everything I wanted; from the wine to the appetizer to my beautifully cooked steak and then ending with the most decadent chocolate torte I had ever eaten. Once back at the hotel I removed my make-up, combed through my hair and slept like a well fed baby feeling sufficiently spoiled and completely over the anxiety I felt after my near-kiss with Tora.

Wanting to try one of the many recusants that the Bellagio offered desert in, I was in the middle of fixing my hair when there was a knock at the door. Checking the peep hole, I saw a bell hop waiting for me. Opening the door, I felt my eyes widened when I realized he was holding a large white box with a note card on top addressed to me.

“Poppylan Wilkes?” He asked expectantly.

“Yes?”

“A delivery, ma’am.” He handed over the box before giving a small bow and going back down the hall. The door closed behind me with a sharp click as I walked the box over to my bed and set it down, picking up the card I flipped it over to find a brief messaged typed out.

Please wear this tonight, the car will pick you up at 7.

It was unsigned, but I had a gut feeling of who sent it… I only knew 3 other people in the entire city. Lifting the lid of the box, my jaw fell open as I came face to face with the most gorgeous champagne colored silk gown, delicate rose gold jewelry and strappy nude red-bottomed heels. Everything was my exact size and had the prices discreetly removed from the various tags. As I trailed my fingertips along the expensive fabric, I couldn’t decide if the butterflies in my stomach were from excitement, or fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be like Tora and Quincey, tip your dancers <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading <3


End file.
